Personalization. Is it a mere buzz word or does it mean a fundamental shift in the way consumers choose and purchase content?

The answer? Yes and no. Yes, personalization indicates a massive paradigm shift towards consumer control. However, it is useful to examine the true meaning of personalization.

In a more traditional web sense, personalization means the ability to define and target services and products based on the interests of an individual. The context differs in the mobile arena. It means more about the individual choosing amongst a range of options – what phone, ringtone, social network – that says to the world at large – this is me, this is who I am and the group I belong to. It also means consumption of content – I want what I want, when I want it.

Personalization of handsets began with changeable phone covers – this migrated towards personalizing content on the phone – your own picture, ringtone, ringback tone, voice mail message etc.
It is about choice and consumption (free or cost attached). And it is about showing this to the outside world. Strong demand has been created in the youth market around the mobile phone.  According to recent research “technologically adept” younger demographics in Asia spend about 13 percent of their disposable income on mobile phones (source: RNCOS Research: Asia Pacific Mobile Handset Market Analysis, April2006). This means Asian youth, between 14 and 24 purchase not only the handset, but also SMS, MMS and content. The younger consumer is also downloading more mobile phone ringtones, wallpapers and games than before.

Polyphonic ringtone remains as the most popular content. According to recent findings from In-Stat, data expenditures for ringtones, screensavers and wallpaper accounted for 29.7 percent of the youth market followed by games at 9.7 percent; video, still nascent, at 6.5 percent, with the remaining 40.3 percent accounted for messaging.

Now, with increasing 3G handsets penetrating the market, the subscriber base has increased by 50 percent from 10.5 million to 15.5 million in the year 2005 – realtones and truetones are rising in popularity.
What is the difference between the two? A realtone is a ringtone that is licensed by the rights holder, produced from an original recording with lyrics, with the performer clearly identified in its marketing materials. Truetones, also called sound effects, range from: a dog barking to the sound of the old bakelite phone ringing. For the younger demographic, the ability to recognize or differentiate their phone amongst the many handsets at school, university or at work is key. Using ringtones is also a marker for who you are – identifying the individual amongst many.  
This concept of personalization has extended to the mobile game arena. Now, you can make up your own game by selecting different components before downloading it. You can choose your own character; decorate ‘his’ apartment and select mini-games to be included, according to the games maker, Pocket Pal. The user is heavily involved and interacting with the concept – and would also provide a highly interactive concept to use in a marketing application.

• Polyphonic ringtones being replaced by realtones and cover tones
• Animated screensavers and wallpapers are also very popular. Most of this is driven by TV and print advertising, with web based promotions on the increase
• Chat / dating services are a strong second segment after personalization
• Also Video services are increasingly becoming popular. Downloads (girls and goals) and uploads (blogging applications) will grow exponentially via MMS and direct video-call type services.

Music is a whole topic in itself. Whilst there is no space to cover it in depth, music will be highly popular. Both realtones and full tracks will feature among the top revenue generating services in late 2006 onwards.  Launching shortly are full tracks pre-loaded on phones or memory cards but activated and paid for by premium SMS.

So far, this discussion has been about downloading of content. The other aspect of personalization is the creation and sharing of content, or uploading. The impetus to share content has been driven by technology. The convergent device – mobile and camera – facilitates users to send picture messages (MMS).  The content generation by the younger demographics is focused on the personal – tracking and diarizing your life via your mobile. As a mobile blogger you can send photos, videos, make movies together with notes, and upload them to a website for access by friends, family and fans in an instant.  
Personalization is also driven by the need to connect with others, the need to differentiate oneself from the crowd, and when the rest of the crew catch up – it is time for the leaders to move on to the next new one. That is, consumers using live chat, instant messenger and email on mobile. It also taps into the trend of using friends as an information source, providing advice, referrals and recommendations on everything from health to movies to CDs and books.

Media companies have already recognized the value locked up in the communities or social networking phenomenon, with the purchase of MySpace by News. MySpace intends to make its mobile features available on all US carriers by early next year. And Korean phone-maker Helio introduced a pair of MySpace-branded devices; hoping teens would use the phones for online social networking.

The personalization paradigm shift offers huge potential for marketers and advertisers by encouraging deep interactions with consumers. When devising a campaign or communication with customers, marketers can choose from a variety of interaction mechanics but all must offer value to the consumer, and keep in mind the personal nature of the mobile phone.